thanks for the kind words all.
as for poetry in general, i try to avoid the (mis)use of poetry to express ideas that can be adequately represented without it.
having the same respect for poetry as for a formidable opponent in the ring, i try not to step between those particular ropes unless the content’s analogical or emotional weight, or the multiplicity of its layers, is impossible to render in prose.

incidentally, i’ve come to feel much the same way about sex, in that i feel it’s almost disrespectful to deploy our sexuality in situations that don’t involve otherwise inexpressible (and sometimes contradictory) emotions. fortunately, i’m sufficiently hotheaded (in all senses of the word) that i encounter few such situations.

dantes, #5The practice of linking allusions is an interesting innovation that holds promise for reviving poetry online. A hi-tech solution to poetry’s inaccessibility in the age of illiteracy

i considered the linking necessary because the allusions are weak enough to go unnoticed otherwise.
i don’t mean “weak” in a pejorative sense here; i have a rather sensitive threshold for what i consider plagiarism and/or dilution of my own voice, so any allusions i may throw into the text will normally be minimum effective doses.

also not insignificant is the unobtrusiveness of links in this particular wordpress theme. were the links to appear in the usual jarring, underlined royal blue, i’d eighty-six them.